Buffy May Cry
by Insieme per la vittoria
Summary: Upon Spike's appearance, Giles fears that Buffy will need help, as Spike has killed two slayers. Giles calls an old friend from his Ripper days. A half-devil, half-human warrior by the name of Dante. Dante becomes part of Buffy's group, and his presence changes the course of the entire series.
1. Mighty Ally

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Buffy or Devil May Cry.**

Buffy, Xander and Willow danced in the Bronze, Xander having dragged the girls away from their schoolwork. As they danced, a British voice said to someone nearby, "Where's the phone? I need to call 911. There's some big guy out there trying to bite someone!"  
Buffy rushed outside, where she found a vampire trying to feed off a girl. Buffy dragged the vampire off the girl, and started hitting him. Xander ran inside, going through Buffy's purse to find a stake. After pulling out a napkin and fumbling with a tampon, he found a stake. He ran outside, tossing Buffy the stake. The vampire called out, "Spike! Give me a hand!" Buffy staked the vampire, and it turned to dust. Out of the shadows, a man in a black leather coat, with bleached white hair, stepped into the open, clapping. "Nice work, love." His voice and British accent gave him away as being the one who had said the vampire was outside.  
"Who are you?" Asked Buffy, seeming uneasy.  
"You'll find out on Saturday."  
"What happens on Saturday?"  
"I kill you."

Giles went through his books. "Here we are. Spike. He's known as William the Bloody. Earned his nickname by torturing his victims with railroad spikes. Well here's some good news. He's barely two hundred. He's not even as old as Angel. Oh…"  
Xander leaned forward. "Good oh or bad oh?"  
Giles looked up. "I think your idea of running away might have been a good one. Spike has fought two slayers in the last century, and he's killed them both."

Giles picked up the phone in his office. He had to double check the number, but he got through easily. A deep male voice answered. "Devil May Cry."

The window to the school parent teacher night burst open, and dozens of vampires poured inside, Spike standing at the front. "What can I say? I couldn't wait."  
Spike started to enter the school, but a man in a red coat, with white hair, who ironically bore something of a resemblance to Spike, stepped into Spike's path, and with an easy movement, launched the vampire straight back out the window. Buffy and the others watched as the man raised a sword, and decimated the other vampires. The man looked out the window, but Spike had already vanished. Buffy charged over to the man in the red coat, snatching a pencil off a table as an improvised weapon. "Alright, who the hell are you?"  
Giles stepped up next to Buffy. "Buffy, wait. He's on our side. Buffy, this is Dante. He hunts demons."

Buffy, Willow and Xander walked in their respective groups, each leading a group of children who were trick-or-treating. As Willow's group reached a door, they were all changed into demons, their costumes becoming reality. Willow, who was dressed as a ghost, fell to the ground, before stepping out of her body. She ran over to Xander, who had been dressed as a soldier, and now was a soldier, shooting at the monsters with a machine gun. She called out to him, but he pointed the gun at her. "I suggest we get to safety, mam. It's dangerous out here."  
"Xander, we can't. We have to find Buffy."  
Buffy walked up to a tree, leaning on it. She was dressed as a seventeen hundreds noblewoman. Xander and Willow went up to her, when Xander turned and saw a demon. "We may have a situation."  
Willow knew who to turn to. "Buffy, what do we do?"  
To her horror, Buffy fainted.

The three returned to Buffy's house, locking the doors. Cordelia walked in close behind. Willow left Xander in charge, walking through the wall.

Giles was looking through a book, with Dante sitting in the library, his feet on the table. Suddenly, Willow appeared out of the wall. Giles jumped, but Dante wasn't bothered in the least.  
"Giles. We need your help."

Giles and Willow were looking through books, while Dante was still in the same position, his feet across the table. "So everyone became their costumes?"  
"Yes. Xander was a soldier, Buffy was a seventeenth century noblewoman."  
"And you?"  
"I'm a ghost."  
"The ghost of what, exactly?"  
Willow uncomfortably folded her arms over the outfit she had worn under the ghost suit. Her arms covered her stomach, and she leaned lower as if trying to vanish. "Well this is nothing. You should've seen Cordelia. A leotard with cat things."  
"She became a cat?"  
"No. She didn't change. Wait. She got her costume from Party Town. Everyone who changed got theirs from the new place, Ethan's."  
"Ethan?" Said Dante, standing up. "The owner of this shop, was he a scrawny British guy with a gravelly voice?"  
Willow nodded, and Giles and Dante exchanged a glance. Giles headed out the door. "I'll deal with him. You two go and help the others."

Xander punched the pirate onto the ground. Angel came and got him. "It's strange. Beating up that pirate gave me a weird sense of closure."  
The group headed to a warehouse when they saw Spike appear around the corner, leading a group of demons. Willow went inside with the rest, but Dante stayed outside. The demons reached him, and were instantly sent flying. Finally, only Spike remained. Spike was uncertain, stepping back. Finally, Spike charged, meeting Dante's fist head on. Suddenly, the children were reverted to themselves. Dante was distracted by the children, and Spike had vanished when he turned around.


	2. The Game Changes

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Buffy or Devil May Cry.**

Spike paced around the factory, fuming. "I say we bring in the big guns. The Order of Taraka."

Buffy stood in the library as Giles inspected the ring she had taken from the demon she and Angel had killed. "Angel was power freaked by that ring."  
Giles turned to face her. "I'm afraid he was not overreacting. This ring is worn only by members of the Order of Taraka."  
Dante, who had been sitting at the desk, moved over to look. "Those guys, eh? Dealt with them before. I think they might still have a contract on me to this day."

Angel stood in Willy's Bar. He held Willy by the head, and was pressing him down on the bar.  
"All right! You know Spike sent those guys! He's sick of your girl getting in the way!"  
The door flew open, and a girl in a rough set of street clothes came reeling in, falling to the ground unconscious. Dante stepped in behind her. "Where are they?"

The group sat in the library, where the girl, Kendra, was explaining her story.  
"Another slayer?" Cried Buffy. "I was only dead for a minute!"

Angel went back to his place, sitting down on his bed. "Who's there?"  
Spike stepped out of the bathroom, with several vampires behind him. Angel stood, preparing to fight. "This is your plan, Spike? You're gonna fight me yourself? You've never beaten me, Spike!"  
Spike charged, and so did Angel.

Back at the library, Giles had just finished reading up on the ritual Spike was performing. "It requires the presence of her sire."  
Buffy looked up. "Angel is Drusilla's sire. We need to get there. Dante, back me up."

Buffy and Dante entered Angel's place through the open door, looking at the trashed room. Dante stepped into the room, sniffing. "Spike and some other vampires. I think I can follow the scent, though. I say we find them now, just you and me against them."

The doors to the church flew open, and Dante walked in, Buffy close behind. Angel stood at the pyre, tied to Drusilla with a blade through the hand of both vampires. Several vampires, and the two assassins, the police woman and the man made of bugs, attacked, but Dante easily overpowered them, the vampires dusting, the human assassin taking a punch which knocked her out, and the bug man being vapourised by a blast of devil power. Meanwhile, Buffy threw Spike off, pulling Angel off Drusilla. Spike picked Drusilla up and ran towards the exit, but Buffy picked up the church's incense burner and threw it into the back of his head. Spike was stunned by the blow to his head, and he and Drusilla flew head first into the organ, and were crushed under the massive organ pipes when the instrument fell apart around them.

Buffy and Angel jumped out of the sewer, returning to Angel's place. They had gone to the factory to find out how close Drusilla was to reassembling the Judge, and found that he was completed. The two had barely escaped with their lives. Buffy sat on Angel's bed, wincing slightly at a small cut. Angel checked the cut, but it had already closed. Buffy kissed Angel, and the two simply forgot the rest of the world. For the next half hour, only they existed.

Angel woke with a start, struggling with a sudden burning feeling in his chest. He ran outside into the rain, screaming in pain. He called for Buffy, but she was asleep, and did not hear him. A woman saw Angel lying on the ground, convulsing. She moved over to him. "You okay? You want me to call 911?"  
Angel jumped nimbly to his feet, his back still to her. "Nope. The pain is gone." Angel spun around, grabbing the woman by the head and biting her, killing her instantly. "I feel just fine." He concluded.


	3. A New Foe

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Buffy or Devil May Cry.**

Dante walked through the school. In the few weeks since Angel had lost his soul, everything had changed. Dante had destroyed the Judge, using his devil magic to do so, guaranteeing that the Judge could never return again. Jenny had been revealed to be a gypsy, and there spying on Buffy and Angel. Buffy was stricken by what was happening, but Dante reacted with an entirely different approach. With much agreement from Xander, Dante had been searching for Angel, planning to kill him.

Dante heard a scream, and he ran towards it, moving at a speed that took him to the computer room before Angel had even reached Jenny's desk. Angel had clearly arrived with the idea of killing Jenny. Dante picked Angel up, flinging him straight through the nearest wall. Jenny grabbed Dante's shoulder. "Wait! I have what we need to curse him again. We can restore his soul."

That night, Giles returned to his home to find Dante and Jenny sitting on his couch, Dante easily restraining a struggling Angelus.

Spike paced around angrily, thinking about how much he wanted to kill Angel. Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see Dante, who held an unconscious Drusilla. "I'm giving you a chance. If you can love Drusilla as much as you do, there might just be hope for you yet. Get outta here. You and Drusilla just leave town."

Mayor Richard Wilkins III sat in his office, reading his paper. "Now that's interesting! This guy here in the picture of Sunnydale High School's staff looks so much like Sparda! And oh look! He's the library assistant, working with the watcher. And his name is Dante!" The Mayor slammed his fist on the desk. "The last thing I want is the Son of Sparda hanging around when I undergo my ascension. If anyone can destroy a pure demon, it's that Devil Hunter."  
Trick shrugged. "Demon's a demon. I don't see why you should worry about a demon and a slayer. Myself and Kakistos had no trouble killing that Kendra girl when she attacked us. Her replacement, Faith, was a little more rowdy, though. I'm guessing you know she's what brought me and Kakistos here in the first place."  
Richard glared at Trick. "A slayer, or even two slayers, is merely a hindrance. Certainly no match for the demon I plan to become. Dante the Devil Hunter is another story. He could ruin everything!"

Buffy and Angel sat at Angel's place. "Things have been so quiet lately, Angel. Apart from Spike turning up and wanting the love potion, anyway. I feel like we're in store for some big evil that's gonna just rear up and wreck my senior year or something."  
Angel shrugged. "Maybe. Whatever appears, we'll face it together."

Buffy fought with a vampire in the cemetery. She threw him onto his back, when she suddenly felt faint. The vampire tackled her, pulling her stake from her and started to shove it through her chest. Buffy rolled to the side, taking the vampire off balance, staking it in the process.

The next day, Buffy saw Cordelia arguing with a jock, who proceeded to roughly grab Cordelia. Buffy attempted to pull him off Cordelia, but the jock easily shoved Buffy to the ground. Cordelia started hitting the jock, and he backed off.

Buffy ran into the library, terrified. "Giles! I just got beaten up by a no-neck, and rescued by Cordelia! What's happening to me?"  
Giles shook his head. "Perhaps you're sick, Buffy."  
An argument ensued, in which Buffy ultimately left, feeling miserable.  
Dante moved forward, standing next to Giles. "What's going on, Ripper? I can tell when someone's lying."

At an old abandoned arms museum in the corner of town, a group of watchers were working at bricking up the whole building. Giles sat in the lounge with a man in a formal jacket, who was aged about sixty. "This is a time-honoured rite of passage. When the slayer turns eighteen."  
Giles ground his teeth. "It's an archaic exercise in cruelty."

The two looked up as the door flew open, and Dante stormed in. The other two watchers attacked him, but were punched unconscious in an instant. Dante ripped open the wooden box that contained the insane vampire that Buffy was to face in her weakened state. The instant the crazed vampire was exposed, Dante's sword flew into his hand, and, moving so fast as to be invisible, he hacked the vampire, and the box that contained it, into several pieces. The vampire was in at least twenty pieces before it even had time to turn to dust. Dante turned to face the watcher Giles had been arguing with. "I think she just passed her test. Her opponent's pretty friggin' dead."  
The watcher, Travers remained silent, while Giles smiled grimly, pleased that Buffy would be in no danger, but angry with himself for not having the courage to do what Dante had just done.

Dante and Giles stood in the library afterwards. Dante had told Travers that if he tried to put Buffy or Faith through the test again, he would not live to regret it.  
Dante crushed the vials containing the muscle relaxant Giles had been giving Buffy. "She never needs to know. She needs to believe you've got her back. She trusts you. You can't destroy her like that."

Buffy entered the library, to see a man in a formal suit standing next to Giles, or more accurately, over him. "Hello. Buffy, I presume. My name is Wesley Wendham-Pryce. I'm the new watcher."  
Faith walked in close behind Buffy. Wesley looked at her with a snobby, condescending look in his face. "Ah! And this is perhaps Faith."  
"New watcher?" Asked Faith. Buffy and Giles nodded. "Screw that." Faith walked out.  
Off to the side, Dante started laughing, clapping as he did so. "Couldn't've said it better myself!"

The Mayor, Richard Wilkins III, opened his liquor cabinet, and a vampire dressed as a crusader jumped out. The vampire attempted to attack Wilkins, but Trick easily threw him off.

In the warehouse, Balthazar screamed at his minions, the duellist vampires. "Vincent made a noble effort. He had honour, and I have jack to show for it!"  
As he screamed and ranted, the door flew open, and Dante entered. "It was nice of you to make all that noise to help me find you, as if that smell wasn't enough."  
The vampires attacked, but Dante effortlessly butchered them. Balthazar started to scream more, but Dante pulled his pistols and filled the grotesque demon with bullets, rapidly reducing him to a pile of parts floating in the pool the vampires had him in. "If that's a vampire's version of a fish in a bowl, I'm glad I'm a half-devil instead."

Wilkins completed the ritual. "I don't understand why Alan would miss this. He's usually so punctual."  
Trick rolled his eyes. "Did it work?"  
"Let's find out. Open the cage."  
Trick let the vampire out of the cage, and the vampire slammed his sword on Wilkins' head, splitting it in half. The vampire then watched in horror as the head welded itself back together.  
Trick staked the vampire, while Wilkins laughed.  
"This officially commences the hundred days. Nothing can harm me until the ascension."


	4. Invulnerability and Ascension

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Devil May Cry or Buffy.**

The gang sat in the library. Wesley was standing over them all as if he was a general or something like that. "Buffy and Faith, I want you to look into the deputy mayor's murder."  
There was a slight argument, but finally Faith casually agreed.

Outside, Faith rounded on Buffy. "What you gonna do? You gonna rat me out?"  
Buffy attempted to reason with Faith, but she felt like she was talking to a wall. A rude, loud mouthed wall. "Faith, please let me tell Giles."  
The two girls argued, but no conclusion was met. What the two girls didn't notice was the man in the red coat leaning against a wall in a cluster of people not so far away. Dante's enhanced hearing heard everything the girls said, and he knew which girl was right.

Buffy walked into the library, having been convinced to tell Giles. Giles stepped out of his office, Faith close behind him. "It's all right, B. I told him. He had to know what you did."  
Buffy widened her eyes in horror. "What _I _did?"  
Faith left, while Giles took Buffy into the office. "Giles, please believe me. The murder… It was…"  
"Faith. I know."

The group sat in the library, planning their actions. "She's far too unstable for us all to speak to her. I think it would be better to try a one on one approach."  
Xander piped up. "Well I could be the one. The one on her one. We have a connection."  
Dante rolled his eyes. "Sorry, kid, but no you don't. Faith doesn't take her flings seriously. You don't mean jack to her."  
Everyone widened their eyes, with the notable exception of Willow. "How'd you know?" Cried a confused Xander.  
Dante shrugged. "That night with those she-demons. When she showed up to help us fight that ugly thing that popped out of the floor. I noticed straight away that she smelled a bit like you. It was when I saw you fighting those thugs in the school that I noticed you smelled of her too."  
Xander nodded, realising that Dante had done him a service by keeping his secret.  
Dante stood, facing the group. "I think I'll speak to her. A few of my friends are killers."

Faith sat in her flat, trying not to think of the death of the deputy mayor, or that she had blamed Buffy for it. She turned when there was a knock at the door, and opened it to find Dante standing at the door. "What do ya want?"  
Dante shrugged. "Can I come in? Need to talk to you about the dead guy."  
She let him in. "Two minutes. That's it."

Dante leaned against the wall. "People make mistakes, Faith. Killing humans is a dirty business, but shit happens."  
Faith ground her teeth. "Why don't you talk to Buffy? She's the one who killed a guy!"  
Dante rolled his eyes. "You're a bad liar, Faith. Your pulse accelerates when you lie, and the black things in your eyes get smaller. Dead giveaway."  
Faith clenched her fist. She knew that Dante knew what had happened, and she had never liked him much to begin with. She had tried to flirt with him, but he had not responded at all, which annoyed her to no end. Faith grabbed Dante by the shoulders. "That's what it means to be a slayer. I see, I want, I take. I can have anything, anyone. Even you, Dante. You just came by for a taste."

Faith attempted to throw Dante onto the bed, but to her astound, Dante remained solid, completely immovable. With an easy flick of his wrist, Dante threw Faith onto the floor. "Don't let that bullshit go to your head, kid. I'm a thousand times stronger than you are. I do what I want, but I don't go around killing people."  
Faith jumped from the floor, launching herself at Dante. The blow she received from him rendered her unconscious before she even knew she had been hit.

Angel sat in his place with Faith. Faith had just calmed down when Wesley and some other watchers charged in and wrapped Angel in a net. Wesley removed the chains that held Faith to the wall, and placed her in cuffs, taking her out to the truck.

Buffy and the others glared at Wesley. "She already escaped?"  
Angel glared condescendingly at Wesley. "Good job. First you traumatise her, then you put her back on the street."

Buffy walked down the dock. She knew this was where Faith would be. Faith appeared on a walkway leading onto a ship. The two argued for several minutes, before a barrel dropped onto Buffy, dazing her. Trick and several vampires appeared, attacking Faith. Faith killed a few vampires, while Trick attacked Buffy. In her current state, Buffy was thrown down by Trick, and he prepared to bite her. Suddenly, he was staked, and turned to dust. Behind where Trick had been stood Faith.

Wilkins left his office, opening the door to find Faith standing there. "You sent your guy to kill me."  
"Yes, I did."  
"He's dust."  
"I thought he might be, what with you standing here and all."  
"Guess that means you have a job opening."

Faith stood in front of Angel, standing in his place. "I need someone who I can trust. Who trusts me."  
"I trust you."  
"Chump!"  
Faith threw a vial of blood onto Angel's chest, and a sorcerer appeared and started chanting. Lights enveloped Angel, penetrating him. Finally, it was done, and Angel dropped.

Faith and Angel stood in the mayor's office. Angel picked up the mayor's letter opener.  
"I see you're admiring my letter opener."  
"Actually, I was thinking of stabbing you through the heart with it."  
Wilkins relaxed in his chair, and Angel flung the letter opener into his chest. Wilkins casually removed the opener. "Nice shot. You see, I can't be harmed in any way."

Angel listened while Faith told the chained up Buffy that the mayor planned something called an ascension on graduation day. Buffy pulled her hands free, the chains having never been fastened. Faith attacked Buffy, but Dante appeared, grabbing her and flinging her out the door.  
"Hit the road."

Buffy fought Faith in the apartment Wilkins had given her, before finally stabbing her through the gut. A badly wounded Faith jumped off the balcony, landing in a passing truck.

Buffy sat on the bed Angel rested in. The poison he was dying from could only be cured by draining the blood of a slayer. With Faith gone, Buffy knew what had to be done.

Giles, Jenny, Willow, Xander and Dante sat in the waiting room. Buffy emerged, a bandage around her neck where Angel had bitten her. "Get everyone. We're ready for war."

The group sat in the library, reading information. "The volcanologist Faith killed discovered a giant carcass under a dried lava bed. He believed it to be an undiscovered dinosaur."  
The description of the carcass ultimately led them to a specific type of demon. Giles found a book regarding this demon. He found the page, where Xander opened up the additional stretch of paper on the page, folding it out into the full pages, where the size of the demon was measured compared to that of a human. "We're gonna need a bigger boat."

Buffy stood with her friends, when the mayor walked straight into the library.  
"So this is command central."  
Before he could say anything else, Dante fired a shot into his head, shattering it. The head reformed, but Dante still found it satisfying. When Wilkins tried to say something else, Dante's foot connected sharply with the mayor's face, launching him straight back out the library doors. "I thought he'd never leave."

Wilkins stood before the assembled students, giving his speech. Buffy and Willow waited impatiently as he continued to speak, before the sun went down, and Wilkins rapidly changed into a giant snake. The staff ran out. The students threw their graduation gowns aside and brought out weapons, preparing to fight the mayor. Vampires rushed in, attacking the students. Principal Snyder shook his head. "This is completely unacceptable. You're on my campus, buddy. And when I say I want quiet, I mean…" Principal Snyder's ridiculous outburst was cut short when the snake ate him.

As Buffy and the students watched, a red devil appeared out of the sky, flying onto the ground in front of the giant snake. The devil changed to Dante, and he smirked. "Let's rock, baby!"  
The snake began to charge at Dante, but he pulled his pistol, firing a shot imbued with devil power straight into the massive demon's face, blowing it to pieces. "Great. What a mess."

Afterwards, Buffy sat with Willow, Xander, Oz, and Cordelia. Dante and Giles had spoken with her briefly, before leaving her alone. Wesley had been clotheslined during the battle, and was whining about back pain. Other than that, there were few serious injuries, and Snyder had been the only fatality. Larry had suffered a shoulder injury fighting a vampire, and Harmony had been bitten into by a vampire, which had been rapidly staked by Angel before it could do any real harm. Angel had decided to leave Buffy, knowing that he wasn't right for her. Dante wasn't too inclined to disagree, even though he really didn't have anything against Angel.  
Oz faced the school, placing his arm around Willow. "Guys, think about this. We survived."  
"It was quite the fight. I hate to think what we would have done without Dante."  
"No, not the battle. High school."


	5. Period of Adjustment

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Devil May Cry.**

Buffy stood on the campus of Sunnydale College. So far, she had been handed several pamphlets for parties with free Jell-O shots for freshman girls, a pamphlet telling her to go to church, a pamphlet inviting her to a party at some weird frat house, but still had no idea where she was meant to go for classes.

She looked up to see Willow, and the two girls were rapidly joined by Oz. Willow was loving the new college, and Oz seemed to know the place already. Buffy was the only one out of place.

That night, Buffy was walking around the campus trying to find a way back to her room, and was also hoping her annoying roommate Kathy would already be asleep when she got there. She was broken from her thoughts when she walked into a guy. "Sorry. Hey, could you help me. I'm completely lost here. I have the worst sense of direction on the planet."  
The guy shrugged. "I'm worse. I'm lost and I have a map."  
Buffy checked out the guy's map, confirming where her room was and where his was. "So that's Stephenson Hall over there."  
She started to head for it, and he headed off to another hall. "I'm Buffy, by the way."  
"Eddy."

As Buffy walked back to Stephenson, Eddy was grabbed by a group of vampires.

Buffy entered Giles' place. "Giles?"  
Jenny Calendar, dressed in a grey nightgown, stepped out of the hallway. "Hey Rupert, is this blue cheese or cheese that's gone blue from being in a stuffy room with a stuffy guy?"  
Buffy widened her eyes as she saw Jenny and Jenny saw her. "Buffy. Hi."  
"Hi. Giles is here, right?"  
"Well I wasn't talking to another guy called Rupert."

Giles stepped from the hallway in a red night gown. "What is it, Buffy?"  
Buffy explained Eddy's disappearance, and Giles nodded.  
"There could be a squad of vampires working the campus. We need to do research…"  
"You aren't describing anything you can't do yourself. I'm here, but you can't rely on me forever."

Buffy stood in the place where she had spoken to Eddy, when she suddenly saw him out the corner of her eye. She followed him, and he moved away from the lit area, and into the bushes. She caught up to him, and he turned, sporting a vampire face. She rapidly staked him, and a group appeared around her. A blond girl with stupid looking hair stepped up to her. "The slayer. Heard you were coming. I'm Sunday. I'll be killing you here in a second or so."  
Buffy attacked Sunday, but found herself beaten. Buffy ran away from the group, keeping her injured arm clutched to her chest.

Buffy sat in the bronze. Her stuff had been stolen from her room at college, she had gone home to find her room full of packing crates, and Willow and Oz were too busy to keep her company. Suddenly, a deep voice said, "You look like shit."  
She turned to see Dante standing beside her. "Thanks."  
Another, very familiar voice said, "The thing that did that dead yet?"  
She turned to see Xander. Before she even knew what she was doing, she hugged him.

Buffy explained everything to her two friends, and Dante stood. "Well let's rock."

Sunday placed Buffy's skirt in front of herself, concluding that it didn't fit her. "She's too skinny."  
The door burst open, and Dante charged inside, guns blazing, reducing the entire gang to a large pile of ashes. Sunday charged, only to be hit by a devil charged shot, which blew her up.  
A male vampire in a skull shirt returned to the abandoned building to see that Dante had destroyed the whole gang. He turned and ran, vanishing into the trees. He looked around him, and was sure the man in red wasn't following him. Suddenly, a Taser hit him in the back, stunning him. A group of soldiers then appeared out of the bushes, grabbing him.

Dante sat at the table with Xander, Oz and Willow. He watched as Buffy, who stood in the line for lunch, was spoken to by a young boy with dark hair. Willow started talking to Oz, telling him that this guy was hitting on Buffy. Xander seemed mildly jealous, and Oz and Willow both seemed happy for Buffy, but Dante was tempted to break the boy's skull open.

In a flash, Dante stood between Buffy and this boy, having traversed the cafeteria in less time than a bullet would take to travel the same distance. Buffy jumped, as did the boy. Dante casually placed a hand on each kid's shoulder.  
"Hey Buffy, I gotta talk to you about those tests you gotta do for psych. Something about recognising douchebags when you see them."  
Buffy forcefully grabbed Dante, dragging him to the side. "Excuse me, Dante. Parker and I were talking. I don't appreciate you blitzing across the cafeteria to get in the way."  
Parker shook his head in an understanding fashion. "Your boyfriend?"  
Glaring at Dante, Buffy said, "No. More like an older brother. An annoying older brother. I'm sorry, Parker."  
Parker shook his head. "There's no problem. I'm sorry for upsetting your friend."  
Without even bothering to break free of Buffy's grip, Dante turned to face Parker.  
"Get outta my face, you little turd."

At the table, Dante explained to Buffy that Parker was clearly a womaniser. Dante could tell from a mile away. Buffy wouldn't believe him.

Dante watched from out the window as Parker spoke to Buffy again. Buffy was still very attracted to him, and it was obvious that she was still falling for his act. Dante rolled his eyes.  
"All right then. I'm gonna kick this prick's ass."

That night, Parker walked towards his room, Mellissa beside him. "You know, it's very interesting that you major in history. If you look at all those great people, they were really just people making decisions, taking chances. History is determined by people making choices, but in the end, you sometimes just have to take a chance."  
Mellissa put her hand on his shoulder as a tear came to his eye. "You ok?"  
Parker nodded, allowing another tear to enter his eye. "I'm fine. It's just that history reminds me of the fact that life is there, and then it's gone. You only live once, so you have to live to your fullest. My father's death kinda comes into that."

Dante, who flew miles above in his devil form, heard every word. Red energy arced across the devil's body, becoming more frequent as Dante grew more dislike for Parker.  
"This loser really needs to have his ass kicked into the next universe."

Parker and Mellissa started to head into Parker's room. Parker still looked sad, but he was secretly applauding his work. Mellissa wanted to be a nurse, and had taken care of her mother when she had been sick. That meant that the best way to get her into bed would probably be to pretend to be very upset, and Parker's trick had worked perfectly. Just as they started to climb the stairs, a massive red and black devil appeared on the stairs in front of them. Parker moved back, deliberately placing Mellissa between himself and the devil.

The devil raised its hand, and lightning struck it, cooking the empty stairway. It then dashed forward at a speed which breached the sound barrier, snatching Parker up off the ground, not even brushing Mellissa in the process. The red devil flew straight up into the sky, holding Parker in its hand. Parker was too terrified to do anything at all, even speak. The devil then dropped Parker, letting him fall almost a hundred metres, before swooping down and grabbing him again by the leg. It then held him up, glaring into his face. "If you don't stop acting like an asshole, picking up girls like that with this fake performance, I'm gonna take you back to hell with me and let the demons eat you!"  
Parker wet his pants, before passing out. Dante wasn't willing to check, but it smelled like Parker had crapped his pants too.


	6. Playing God

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Devil May Cry.**

Verruca stepped into the library where Oz's cage still was. "You wanted to show me your little habitat?"  
Oz shook his head. "Get in the cage, Verruca."  
Suddenly, Dante appeared behind Verruca, grabbing her by the neck and throwing her against the wall. Verruca changed into the werewolf, charging at Dante. Without enough time to lock himself in the cage, Oz also changed, and lunged at Dante also. As Dante avoided Verruca's charge, the devil hunter's fist connected sharply with Oz's snout, instantly stunning the werewolf. Verruca jumped up and lunged again, but Dante's sword flew into his hand, impaling the werewolf through the chest, killing it instantly.

When the sun came up, Willow stepped into the library, to find Oz unconscious in the cage, and Dante sitting outside on the seat. A dead Verruca lay on the floor, a massive hole through her chest, and a blanket thrown over her. "What happened here?" Cried Willow.  
Dante stepped over to her. "That chick's a werewolf like Oz. That's why he couldn't help but be attracted to her. He tried to reason with her tonight, but she attacked him. She wasn't a victim like him. She was a killer. That's why killing her won't cost me a moment's sleep. It shouldn't cost you or Oz anything either."

Oz sat in his room afterwards, when Dante walked in, not even knocking. "That wolf chick was nothing. Keep Willow, Oz."  
Oz looked up. "You're always on top of everything. How?"  
Dante shrugged. "Been to Hell and back a few times. Maybe that's it. You mean everything to Willow. She loves you. Don't leave her over some skanky dog girl."  
Oz nodded. "I know all that. It's just…"  
"It's just nothing, kid. You aren't a monster. No one knows more about monsters than me, and you definitely aren't one. Now stay here and do what's right for both you and Willow or I'll kick your ass."

Buffy and Dante walked into the Initiative. Dante had smashed the glass of the mirror that hid the elevator, before picking Buffy up and dropping straight down the elevator shaft, landing easily on his feet. The two of them then forced open the elevator doors and charged inside.

Soon after Parker had mysteriously backed off, Spike had been caught by the Initiative and fitted with a chip that prevented him from hurting people. Spike had gone to Giles and Buffy for help, but had been difficult to get information from. Buffy had tried to intimidate him, but that just made him argue. Giles, Jenny and Oz had each tried to reason with him, but that just got jokes out of him. Willow and her new witch friend Tara, whom Willow had met in her college Wicca group, had tried to perform a spell on him to force him to tell the truth, but it didn't work because he was a vampire. Anya had offered to have sex with him to get the information from him, but Xander had said she couldn't, as she had somehow become his girlfriend, despite Willow's constant negative comments about Anya. Each for its own reasons, the attempts had all failed. However, he had fearfully told Dante everything as soon as Dante readied his sword and caused devil energy to arc across it. Among Spike's information was how to get into the Initiative.

Buffy and Xander had also found out that the TA's Riley, Graham and Forrest in Buffy's psychology class were among the commandos, as were their entire fraternity, situated in the frat house called the Lowell House where the Initiative was hidden underneath, and the psychology Professor Maggie Walsh was in charge of the Initiative, serving as both head scientist and commander.

Inside the secret lab of the Initiative, Maggie Walsh watched the monitors.  
"That self-proclaimed slayer bitch again. And that meddler in the red coat to go with it. Two pains in my ass that need to be destroyed. We'll show them. They think they're so tough, but they're outmatched."  
She quickly left the secret lab through the hidden door in 314, and stood in 314, where she spoke to the unconscious Adam, who had just been fitted with the skewer-equipped arm of the Polgara demon, and was almost ready. "It's almost time to wake up, Adam. And take your first look at the world, and destroy those two wastes of space. The first thing to do… We have to remove the complication. When she least expects it."  
Just as she said that, Adam's skewer impaled her through the back. "Adam?"  
"Mommy."

Adam looked up as the door to 314 was ripped straight off its hinges. In the wake of the destroyed door stood a white haired man in a red coat with a large sword slung across his back, surrounded by the dozens of unconscious soldiers who had attempted to prevent him from reaching the 314 lab. Adam stepped over to this curious, clearly inhuman being. "What am I?"  
Dante shrugged. "Ugly?"  
Adam understood the word, but not the joke. "What are you?"  
Dante shrugged again, twirling his gun. "Who knows?"  
Adam moved closer, readying his skewer. "How do you work?"  
Dante chuckled. "One day a week, if possible."

Adam realised that this most interesting being was toying with him, and simply advanced, readying his skewer, planning to learn about this creature from its insides.

Before Adam had taken one step, Dante pointed his gun at the biomechanical demonoid, firing a bullet imbued with devil power, and blowing Maggie Walsh's monstrous creation turned murderer of its maker into a million pieces.

A few seconds later, a slightly bruised Riley Finn entered, running over to Maggie Walsh and checking her pulse. Feeling none, he turned to face Dante. "You. You did this!" Riley started to pull a gun, but Dante reached him in an instant, throwing him to the floor. The scientists moved over to Finn, picking him up and taking him to the lab to counter the drugs he had in his system.  
Dante shrugged. "He'll be fine. You, Willow and Oz may have to drop psychology, though, what with the teacher being a skewered piece of meat."


	7. Not Much Of A God

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Devil May Cry.**

Buffy moved quickly over to the tied up monk, beginning to untie him. "Hey. You're the one who planted the Dagon Sphere, right?"  
Behind Buffy, a woman with curly blond hair started to move closer, smirking.  
"Don't worry." Continued Buffy. "I'm stronger than I look, and best of all…"  
Just as the woman reached Buffy, Buffy turned and gripped her by the neck. "…I'm not stupid." Buffy concluded.  
The woman easily pulled Buffy's hand aside, throwing her across the warehouse. "You sure about that last part?"

The woman started to advance, when suddenly she was hit by a blast of red energy, which blasted her straight across the warehouse, shaking the entire building. She recovered, glaring at the man in the red coat that had attacked her. "Sparda?" She said, sounding slightly scared.  
Dante flashed across the distance, punching her onto her back. "Nope. I'm his son, Dante. Who the hell are you?"  
The woman stood up. "Glory. I'm a god from a great, all-powerful torment dimension. I remember your father very well. He was a real handsome devil. You're pretty attractive yourself. I'd take you as one of my husbands if I didn't have to kill you."

Glory charged, running at speeds that easily outpaced any land vehicle and any demon Buffy had seen before. Dante stood still for a second, looking bored. Glory reached Dante, and started swinging her fists at him. Dante moved at speed that made Glory seem like a snail, and easily dodged every attack Glory sent his way. After several seconds of dodging, Dante kicked Glory in the midsection, launching her flying across the warehouse again, to slam solidly into the concrete wall, sending cracks running through the whole structure. Glory recovered rapidly, charging at Dante again, who readied his sword.

Glory reached Dante, raising her fist to try to hit him. Moving at imperceptible speeds, Dante slashed downwards with his sword, the demonic blade that was the physical manifestation of Dante's own power shredding the hell god's incredibly solid flesh and bone as if it were paper.

Buffy watched as Glory fell into two pieces, which suddenly became hollow, and out of the dead shell fell an unconscious young man.

Dante and Buffy carried both the unconscious man and the monk to the hospital, where the monk died of his injuries after revealing that Dawn was a mystical device called the Key, and had been planted in Buffy's life, and was not her sister. The young man, whose name was Ben, survived, and was apparently a trainee doctor at the hospital. He didn't need any help now. The creature that had possessed him was dead.

Buffy walked into her house, seeing Dawn sitting on the couch with her mother. Dante stepped in also. Joyce stepped over, looking worried. "Honey, what happened? What's wrong?"  
Buffy and Dante exchanged a glance. "Nothing." Said Buffy.  
"Some demon god creature beat me, but Dante turned her into sliced bread, the best thing ever, as they say. Just a little bruised is all."

Dante sat down in Giles' office at the library, putting his feet on Giles' desk, which he knew the Englishman would not appreciate. Dante looked up. "I know you're there, kid. What's up?"  
Faith stepped out of the doorway, having been hoping to sneak up on Dante. "Caught me again. You stud!"  
Dante sat up. "Something the matter?"  
Soon after Adam had been killed, Faith had reawakened from her coma, and had been planning to kill Buffy, but Dante had caught her and told her all that had happened with the mayor, and told her that to kill Buffy would be to kill the closest thing she had to a friend, only he had used more insults than that. Dante's brutally blunt logic tended to work with people like Faith.

Dante stepped into the hospital, seeing Buffy sitting with her friends. Buffy hugged Dante, as did Willow, while Xander, Giles and Oz shook his hand. Jenny and Tara stood with the others, but seemed substantially less affected. After Faith had told Dante that Joyce had gone to hospital, Dante had heard about what had happened from Xander, and he suspected he knew what had caused it. He also had a possible way to solve it.

Dante picked up the phone, dialling a number that he had to double check. A soft male voice answered. "Hey, Brad. It's Dante. A friend's mother has something wrong with her brain. She had fake memories burned into her brain recently, and I think it wrecked the damn thing."  
Bradley agreed to do what he could to help, and Dante gave him the address. "Sorry, Dante, but it might take me a few weeks to get there. I'm with Angelina in France."  
Dante nodded. "No problem. I'll fly there and get you, then fly you back after she's fixed."  
Bradley's voice betrayed his surprise. "There's no need for you to take a plane here and then a plane back."  
Dante smirked. "Who said anything about a plane?"

Bradley stood in the Summers house with Dante, Buffy and Joyce. Dante's flight speed in his devil form was such that he had gotten to France and back with Bradley in under an hour. Bradley leaned over Joyce. He laid his hands on Joyce's head, and a strange green light glowed from under his fingers.  
Buffy whispered to Dante, "Are you sure about this?"  
Dante nodded. "I can't guarantee it'll save her, but it will definitely help. Brad once saved a guy who was just short of being dead from a stab wound."  
Bradley's magic was worked to its fullest, before he pulled his hands away, the glow fading.  
"How do you feel?" He asked, looking concerned.  
Joyce nodded. "The headache is completely gone. That's either amazing or the world's best placebo."

The doctors looked at the latest X-rays of Joyce's head. They had confirmed the shadow that had shown up in her former CAT scan to be a brain tumour, but there was absolutely no sign of it now. It had vanished without a trace, as if by magic.

Buffy hugged Bradley. "Thank you. That's an amazing gift you have."  
Bradley smiled. "No need to thank me. I don't save lives for praise. I do it because I hate to see people suffering. Humans are a wonderful species. They care for each other so much. So full of warmth it still amazes me to this day."  
Dante shrugged. "You haven't met all of them. Don't be too optimistic."  
Bradley didn't answer, merely smiling at Dante, all but ignoring his comment.  
Dante shrugged. "Good job, dude. Thanks for the life-saving. Anyway, I think we'd better take you back to France."  
Dante morphed into his devil form. "I'll have you back with your lady in no time." The comment would have sounded much more pleasant coming from a human voice, rather than the deep echo that was the voice of Dante's devil form.


	8. Attack of the Nerds

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Devil May Cry, nor do I own Superman, who is referenced by Andrew more than once in this chapter.**

Buffy, Willow, Xander, Oz, Giles and Anya glared at Mr Maclay, Tara's father.  
"She is a demon. The women of our family have demon in them."  
Off to the side, Dante laughed. "Are you serious? That's the biggest load o' shit I've ever heard!"  
Mr Maclay moved closer to Dante. "You have no right to interfere. We are her blood kin! Who are you freaks?"

The back door opened, and Spike stood in the doorway. "Oh. Sorry. Didn't know you had company."  
The group in the library glared at Spike, with the exception of Dante. Dante stood, moving over to Mr Maclay so fast Mr Maclay only saw him vanish and reappear right in front of him.  
"You're tryin' to tell me she's a demon? I've killed more demons than I can count, and I'm pretty sure she isn't one. Even if she was, demons can choose to be humans, and not all demons are evil."

Mr Maclay tried to hide his terror, as he was clearly facing a real demon.  
"She belongs with us, and evil is evil. Who cares about silly things like that? Demons aren't humans. You're a moron."  
Dante changed briefly into his devil form, the very presence of such a being literally darkening the library, and probably the rest of the town, if not the state, to go with it. Mr Maclay took a terrified step back, but still argued.  
"You're a demon, too. It doesn't make her any better. Just because you're even worse."

Spike moved forward. "I think I can sort this out pretty fast."  
Spike punched Tara in the nose, and his chip went off.  
"There's no demon in there." He said, clutching his head.  
Tara's brother moved forward, cracking his knuckles. "Tara, if you don't get in the car, I swear by God I will beat you down."  
In a flash, Dante grabbed Tara's older brother, flinging him straight out the doors of the library. Mr Maclay started to object, but found himself staring down the barrel of Dante's gun.  
"Hit the road."

Buffy sat on the couch with Joyce and Dawn. Almost a year had passed since Dante had killed Glory, and since then, only minor dangers had presented themselves. Buffy was still rooming with Willow in Stephenson Hall, and Willow was still dating Oz. Xander had gotten heavily into his construction job, and was still dating Anya. Giles and Jenny were now both living permanently at Giles' place, and Dante had bought himself a small shop location, operating a branch of his business in Sunnydale. Spike had expressed an interest in Buffy, telling her he loved her. Buffy had told Spike to leave, but Dante had managed to convince her to treat Spike as an ally, telling her that Spike truly felt the feelings he described, and that anyone who feels love is not truly evil.

Dante had been away for about six weeks, and would be returning soon. He had returned to the Devil May Cry for a while, but he would return if they called him and asked for his help.

In his basement, Warren stood in front of his idiotic lackeys, Jonathan and Andrew. He had a plan to kill Buffy, but he planned to test her first. "Look, guys. I already know a lot about the slayer from the details Spike gave me so I'd make him a robot Buffy. We also know her half Devil friend Dante is out of town, and we now have money from that demon who robbed the bank with us. We are officially supervillains."  
Andrew suddenly folded his arms. "I don't know about officially. Is Lex Luther ever officially declared a supervillain by Superman or the police?"  
Warren rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean, you moron."

Buffy stood out the front of her house, having just returned from patrol, and stopped due to a sudden feeling that she was being watched. "Hello, Spike."  
Spike stepped out from behind the tree. "Caught me, slayer. Although, in all fairness, I wasn't hiding."  
Buffy sat down on her deck. "So you here for anything or just hitting on me again?"  
Spike sat down beside her. "Well, I'm just here to let you know that someone's been snooping around Dante's place. Their scent was familiar, but I can't quite place it."  
Buffy shrugged. "Well, let's hope they try snooping around when Dante is around, so he can kick some ass."  
Spike smiled. "Patrol fruitful? Bag any baddies?"  
Buffy smirked. "I'm not dating you, Spike. Good attempt at conversation, though."

Buffy, Willow and Oz sat in class, listening to the lecturer, when the fire alarm went off, activating the sprinklers. The campus emptied, and it was very obvious that there was no fire. Buffy and the other students started to head back into the campus, when suddenly a group of demons appeared, shoved through the crowd of students and attacked Buffy. They were large creatures with sharp teeth. The three monsters attempted to surround Buffy, but she was wise to that trick. She pulled a small knife out of her bag, slashing the throat of one demon, watching as it turned to water. The other two demons attacked, but Buffy stabbed one, dropping the knife, before grabbing the last monster and dragging it onto the ground. The demon attempted to bite her, but Buffy pulled a pen out of her pocket, stabbing the demon through the eye.

Buffy stood in her house. Xander, Willow, Giles, Oz, Anya, Jenny and Tara stood around her, and Dawn and Joyce sat on the couch. "Is that everyone?"  
Just as Buffy said that, the door flew open and Spike ran in, a cloud of smoke around him, as he had been outside in the daylight. Dawn nodded. "It is now."

"I'm used to having demons attack me, but this wasn't the only thing. The robbery at the bank, the time going wonky. I think someone or something is out to be a pain in my ass."  
"Let's not forget that someone was snooping around Dante's empty place." Said Spike.  
Buffy nodded. "That did slip my mind, but yes."  
Suddenly, a deep voice said, "Someone snooping around my place, eh? As if that's a new experience."  
The group turned to see Dante standing in the doorway.  
"I don't even bother to lock my door anymore. Most of the guys who come around looking for trouble could rip the door off its hinges and throw it to the next state. As if a lock would stop them."

Buffy ran up to Dante, hugging him, and Willow followed, also hugging him. Dawn moved over and hugged him next, and held on just a little longer than the other two had. Xander stepped up next, shaking Dante's hand, and Oz then did the same.  
Dante leaned against the wall, not far from Spike, the half devil and the vampire exchanging a nod. "So some douchebag's causing trouble? I'll see if I can find them."

Warren sat with Andrew and Jonathan in the basement. "I have a new plan, guys. Dante returned today. He went into Buffy's house, but he hasn't gone to his own place yet. That means he's probably out looking for us. There's a mystical device called the orbs of Nezzla'khan. They give their wielder strength and invulnerability. With those, I can take Buffy, and I just might be able to take down Dante. I think I know how we can get them, too. I wasn't planning to get these until later, but with Dante, Buffy and Spike all as our enemies, we need some superpower of our own."  
Andrew folded his arms again. "I don't know. Lex doesn't have powers, and he's still Superman's biggest threat. Even bigger than Doomsday and Darkseid, who do have powers akin to Superman's own."  
Warren rolled his eyes. "Okay, first of all, Lex has a suit which gives him powers from solar radiation. Second of all, do you fancy having a round of fisticuffs with Dante or Buffy as you are?"  
Andrew sat down sheepishly. "No. Maybe not."

Suddenly, the door flew open, and Dante walked in, dragging the M'Fashnik the Trio had hired to rob the bank. "This guy gave you up pretty easy. Don't think he liked you guys at all."  
Warren pressed a button on a remote, and a robot that looked like his ex-girlfriend Katrina stepped out and attacked Dante, but was instantly broken, Dante's fist straight through its face.  
Warren scampered back, struggling to put as much space between himself and Dante as possible. Jonathan started to chant, but Dante stood beside him in an instant, gripping his wrist.  
"Relax, kid. You're not in too much trouble. Trying to curse me will only get your ass kicked."

Andrew sat down, looking as if he were about to cry. Dante moved over to Warren, who was easily recognised as the leader. "Sounds like you were actually trying to kill Buffy. That makes things a bit worse for you."  
Warren narrowed his eyes, glaring at Dante. "We weren't gonna kill her. I was just gonna take her down. There's a big difference."  
Dante smirked. "Oh. I get it. You can't stand that a girl has power. That's actually kinda funny. It's also a bit annoying. Trying to reason with a loser who doesn't even know he's a loser is a waste of time. Still, I think I know just where to send you."

Dante sat on Buffy's couch, his feet up on the coffee table. The group were mostly absent, and only Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles and Spike were there, Spike having shown up uninvited. A tall, curvaceous woman with long blond hair, wearing black leather pants and a black leather tube top which more resembled a bustier, stood in the living room with them.

The woman sat down next to Dante, resting her feet on the coffee table next to his.  
"So I'm a dumping ground for losers?"  
Dante shook his head. "Nope. I need you to take Warren back with you to the Devil May Cry, and tell Patty to help you make him take over all the chores at the orphanage Patty came from. The woman in charge of the orphanage is one scary woman. She'll keep him in his place. If he gives you any trouble on the way there, feel free to give him a bitch slapping, but try to resist using the lightning too much."  
Trish leaned back in the chair, looking at the ceiling with a bored expression.  
"So you want me, Patty and the orphanage witch to housebreak him. Boring, but it should be funny, at least. All right then. I'll do it. At least I'll get to see the head of the orphanage turn an annoying loser into an automated cleaning machine."


	9. A Dreadful Mistake - Goodbye, Dante

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Devil May Cry.**

Dawn sat in the office of her school guidance councillor. She had been dragged out of class like some sort of freak, but she had to admit that the lady was right, and she was a bit upset.  
"I almost lost my mom last year, and now I just feel like I don't fit anywhere."  
The councillor smiled benevolently. "Why?"  
Dawn lowered her head. "I just feel as if I'm a freak. No one cares about me."  
The lady took a sip from her tea. "Dawn, you can tell me anything. I care."  
Dawn glared at the ceiling. "Well, first off, I feel like everyone's talking about me behind my back. I'm just nobody. I mean, my sister is the big girl, and her tough guy friend Dante is even tougher. They're both just so great. And Buffy has guys interested in her."

Dawn trailed off. The councillor leaned across the table, smiling sweetly. "You can talk to me about this. I was a young lady once, too. Tell me about the guy in question."  
Dawn glared at the floor. "Well, first there was Xander. I liked him for years, and he only had eyes for Buffy. Now there's Dante. He's really cute, and really sweet and cool, and he wears a cool coat and has cool hair. But he just tells me that he doesn't see me that way. I guess he'd never notice me because of that big blond woman he hangs around with who's even hotter than Buffy."

Dawn stopped talking, catching her breath. The lady leaned back, smiling sweetly, her eyes full of warmth. "Sounds like the problem is Dante and your sister. Are they an item?"  
Dawn shook her head. "No, Dante's always trying to get Buffy to give Spike a chance. I'll bet he's just with that beautiful blond woman, Trish or whatever."  
The councillor smiled encouragingly. "Sounds as if these people are the subject of a lot of stress for you."  
Dawn nodded. "Yeah. Dante and Buffy. And that blond. They're so tough, and they're so hot. They're just so much better than me. I wish someone would take Dante and Buffy down a few notches."

After Dawn left the guidance office, the councillor turned to face the wall, and her face changed into that of a vengeance demon. "Wish granted."

At the edge of town, there was a burst of light, which shattered concrete for miles around, before receding and fading to nothing. In the wake of the explosion, a man stood. He had slicked back white hair, which framed a cruel face, and wore an ornate blue leather trench coat. Vergil Sparda stood upright, staring at his hand in glee, finally feeling himself in a tangible form again after so many years.

He then turned, glaring into the town. As he sensed the presence of his twin brother, his eyes turned red and his body changed into that of a massive fallen angel. The instant Vergil released the limitless power of the Demon King, which he had claimed after Dante had killed Mundus, the town instantly grew dark, thrust into the blanket of space. "Dante. This world shall be mine!"

Dante sat in the Bronze with Spike, sharing a drink with the vampire, when he suddenly felt a burst of power greater than he had ever felt before, even greater than that of Mundus. Dante stood. Spike stood also, looking concerned. "What is it? Dante, what's happening?"  
Dante shook his head. "Never mind. Just get Buffy and the others and protect the townspeople."  
Dante then turned and dashed out of the Bronze at lightning speed.

Dante stood in front of Vergil, who smirked at him. Dante moved closer to Vergil.  
"Vergil? You're alive!"  
Vergil shook his head. "After you destroyed my corrupted form, I was imprisoned in a state of limbo for years, alive but with no body. When you killed Argosax, and then Mundus soon after, I absorbed their combined power and became the new King of Hell, but I still had no body, and was still trapped just outside reality. A spell was cast to free me a few minutes ago."  
Dante gripped his brother's shoulders. "Vergil, you don't have to do this. You have the power you wanted, and the one responsible for the death of our mother is dead. You can just go back to being Vergil, my brother."

Vergil smirked. "You're more emotional than you ever were before, Dante. Your emotions were always your weakness. You should never approach an enemy so carelessly, least of all one who wields the combined powers of the two mightiest demons."  
There was a burst of darkness, and Vergil and Dante both vanished.

In the dark dimension Vergil had taken them to, Dante pulled Vergil to him.  
"You're still my brother, Vergil. You and I are family. You can choose to stop this right now."  
Vergil changed into the form that was now his true form, a massive fallen angel which bore traits of both Mundus and Argosax, possessing white stone-like skin, which was also engulfed in a fiery surface which caused its form to be permanently shifting and changing.  
Dante felt tears fill his eyes when he saw what his brother had become.

"I'm sorry this happened to you, Vergil."  
Vergil laughed, his voice now demonic and deep like Mundus' had been.  
"Don't apologise, Dante. I've become a god."  
Vergil charged, and the entire dark dimension, which was a secluded universe in itself, shook with the force. Dante readied his sword, sadly preparing to fight his brother.

Buffy, Spike, and the rest of Buffy's friends showed up at the scene of the explosion, where demons were pouring out of the ground by the thousands. Tara moved forward slightly. "There's a very powerful magic presence here. It's very dark, and powerful. I can't imagine dark magic this powerful. It's beyond reality, it's so strong."  
Anya nodded. "It's the power of Mundus. Mundus is dead, but some other demon must have taken his power. It isn't uncommon for the powers of a dead, but once powerful devil to be sought by other demons, but it's rare that they actually get them. The power of Mundus means the end of the world. His powers are literally infinite. No one can stop him."

Vergil reverted to his human form, leaving the dark dimension. He felt the sheer power of the darkness itself filling him, and he was truly a god. Behind him, Dante lay on the ground in pieces, having been broken by Vergil's power. Vergil didn't even bother looking back as the dark demon dimension swallowed up Dante, destroying his body completely and erasing him from existence, leaving nothing behind.


	10. The Battle For All Existence

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Devil May Cry.**

The dark demon dimension rolled open, and Vergil reappeared in the real world. He manifested an identical copy of his lost sword Yamato, and fired blasts of energy into the town, destroying several city blocks in an instant.

Buffy pulled out her stake. "I'm killing this thing."  
A hand gripped her shoulder, and she turned to see Willow.  
"Buffy, what about Dante?"  
Spike stepped forward, looking sad. "Dante already came to fight this guy. If this guy's still here, it must mean Dante lost."  
Buffy felt tears fill her eyes. "Dante…"

They turned when a motorcycle pulled up beside them. The unmistakable form of Trish dismounted.  
"That's Vergil, Dante's twin brother. He's the only one who ever really beat Dante, and it looks like he's now got the combined power of Mundus and Argosax, in addition to his own. I can't think of a more dangerous enemy."

Vergil sensed the power of the demon Trish nearby. She was Dante's friend. He turned his attention towards the group that surrounded Trish, thinking of what he could do to them.

Trish stepped forward. "I'll see what I can do. Willow and Tara have to help me."  
The thousands of demons that had appeared from the ground suddenly turned their attention towards the group, as if following some silent command from Vergil.  
Trish fried the nearest ones with her lightning, instantly killing dozens of them.  
"Buffy, Spike and the rest of you, you fight these guys. I gotta focus on the big guy."

Buffy and Spike started fighting the demons. Buffy staked a large demon through the chest, but it survived, striking her across the road. Spike jumped onto the demon's head, breaking its neck. Another demon snatched Spike from the corpse of the first demon, and Buffy flung her stake into its eye, killing it before it could tear into Spike with its claws.

Trish shoved through the crowd of demons, heading for Vergil. Vergil hovered above the ground, waiting patiently for her, like a spider waits for a fly.

Trish reached Vergil, and he casually lowered himself to the ground. Trish fired lightning at him, feeling the witches bolstering her power. Vergil didn't even move, the lightning hitting his chest, not even hurting him. Trish then pulled out her guns, firing shots into Vergil's chest, but the bullets were vapourised before they even reached him, despite Trish charging them with lightning. Vergil calmly moved closer to Trish, his face a completely blank mask. Trish slammed her foot into his groin, putting all her strength behind the kick. The kick had more than enough force behind it to shatter a brick wall, but Vergil showed no sign that he even felt it.

Trish rolled her eyes, feeling powerless. "Did that even hurt?"  
Without responding, Vergil sprang into action. With a single thought from Vergil, the world, and the entire universe, froze. He created a large sword from nothing, preparing to sweep it through Trish's chest, slicing her in half. Before he could, he was gripped and forced back by someone who had just appeared.

Vergil released the passage of time, and the world resumed spinning. Trish fell back, stunned, and someone else stepped up to take her place. The man had white hair similar to Dante and Vergil's, but he was younger. He wore a blue coat made of heavy material, with a red hooded jacket underneath. His most notable feature however, was his right arm, which was composed of a crystal substance which glowed blue with an unworldly light. Vergil smirked. "You must be Nero."

Nero smirked back. "So my reputation precedes me."  
Nero swung his sword at Vergil, hitting Vergil square in the forehead, but it did not so much as cut his skin, or hurt him at all. Vergil gripped the blade of the sword. "This is mine."  
Vergil took Yamato back from Nero, throwing the other devil back. Nero drew his original sword, the Red Queen, and charged. Nero began striking Vergil repeatedly, but the blade of the Red Queen simply couldn't break through Vergil's power. Holstering his sword, Nero started striking Vergil with his crystallised right arm, the arm growing to the size of a double decker bus. Despite this, he was still unable to hurt Vergil at all, his giant, almost indestructible fist hitting a completely unyielding, unbreakable object that took the form of Vergil's face.

Finally, Vergil grew bored. With a flash of movement, he swept Yamato through Nero's chest, cutting him in half. The wound sealed up instantly, which kept Nero in one piece, but the immense demonic power that lived in the blade had been struck straight through his core, and he found himself at death's doorstep, horribly effected not by the blade itself, but by the magic that composed it. Vergil stood over Nero. "I am ashamed to call you my son."  
Nero glared at Vergil, horrified. "Your son?"  
Vergil forcibly pulled Nero to his feet, glaring into his eyes. "You are my son. It is a title you do not deserve."  
Nero spat blood at Vergil's face, but Vergil's energy aura vapourised it before it even reached him.  
Vergil effortlessly lifted Nero off the ground by the neck, preparing to destroy his own son.

Willow and Tara had both been injured when Vergil had overwhelmed Trish's magic. Tara had fallen to the ground, her nose bleeding, but Willow was still standing, albeit only barely.  
Willow focused on Vergil, who held Nero up by the throat. Using every ounce of the considerable power she possessed, Willow attempted to perform a quick spell on Vergil that would rob him of his powers. The spell was invisible, but she felt it fizzle out, not coming close to breaking through Vergil's energy aura. Now utterly spent, Willow collapsed on the concrete, her nose bleeding badly.

Buffy and Spike were now the only ones left standing on the street, fighting the demons.  
Xander had been wounded by a demon with long claws, and Anya had half-carried him away. Giles and Jenny had left to get Dawn and Joyce out of the town. Oz and Larry had collected Willow and Tara, Larry carrying the unconscious Willow with Oz supporting the semiconscious Tara. Buffy gripped Spike by the shoulder and pointed at Vergil, who was torturing Nero by burning his skin with an energy field composed of dark magic. Spike nodded, picking up a sharp blade that had come from one of the demons. Spike charged at Vergil, but the blade was completely erased from existence when Spike swung it, vapourised before it even reached the self-appointed Demon King. Spike was then sent reeling back by an unseen force. Buffy and Spike looked on in horror, amazed at Vergil's power.  
Buffy lowered her head. "He's too strong. Nothing can even hurt him."

As Vergil was about to finish Nero off, Trish jumped at him, firing a huge amount of lightning at him. Vergil actually felt it this time, and recoiled, dropping Nero. Nero started to stand, but an explosion of devilish power blew him straight down the street. Buffy and Spike were hit with the shockwave from the explosion, and were blown to the ground. Buffy thrashed, her head ringing, her ears bleeding. Spike had fared better from the explosion, but had landed on his head when he had been blown down, and was unconscious. Buffy struggled to her feet, but her remaining strength rapidly failed her, and she hit the ground again.

Nero had been knocked unconscious by the blast, but Trish had managed to withstand it, using a very powerful blast of lightning as a shield. An utterly exhausted Trish staggered, amazed at the strength it had taken to even survive the repulse of devilish dark energy. As she began to raise her hand to throw more lightning, Vergil focused on her, and her insides boiled. She hit the destroyed ground, struggling to breath. A normal human would have exploded, but Trish would stay alive with her insides boiling for several minutes. She tried to stand, but Vergil altered gravity, causing her knees to give out. Vergil glared at his defeated foes, all of which had been no challenge at all.  
"No one can stop me! I am God!"

In the dark demon dimension, Dante teetered on the brink of death. His body was destroyed, but his soul lingered in the dark world. He could feel power and destruction outside. He tried to remember what was happening, but he couldn't. He was too tired.  
The darkness began to overcome his consciousness, and he was slipping. Just as his disembodied soul was almost completely faded away, he remembered. "Vergil!"  
As the void struggled to take hold, Dante resisted.  
"No! I won't fade! I have to stop him! I have to save them! You're not stopping me!"

There was an explosion of red energy as Dante blew the void apart, reappearing in a fully embodied state. That same explosion split open the demon dimension he was in, destroying it, and he found himself standing back in Sunnydale, directly in front of a surprised looking Vergil.  
"Hey there, big bro. How could you throw this big party and not invite me?"

Vergil snarled with rage, and morphed into his gigantic fallen angel form, charging at Dante. To his utter disbelief, Dante blocked his attack head-on, stopping him in his tracks with little effort. Vergil released a repulse of devil power, but Dante morphed into the imposing Majin form, and the repulse was stopped dead in the air, freezing and literally shattering as if it were made of glass. Vergil attempted to release more earth shattering attacks, but Dante's Majin form proved powerful enough to stop Vergil's deadliest attacks before they even started, his magic attacks turning to glass and shattering before they could do anything, and his physical attacks stopped with little effort. Horrified, Vergil released the full extent of his newfound power, launching himself at Dante with reality warping around him, as if making way for a king. Dante released his own dimension altering power, and the two arch devils clashed in a massive display of limitless power, a pocket dimension surrounding them and containing their cataclysmic battle.

The power compressed to the point that it exploded, and the entire planet shook on its rotation axis despite the explosion happening in a parallel dimension. When the dust of the destroyed street and the obliterated pocket dimension cleared, Dante, back in his human form, stood over the humanoid form of Vergil, who now seemed completely weak and helpless.  
"Taking the power of Darkness Mundus and Argosax the Chaos may sound big, but I'm the guy that killed both of those douchebags. You see Vergil, you can be as powerful as you want. It doesn't change who you really are. For all that power, you're no stronger now than you were all those years ago when I beat you at the waterfall. If anything you're weaker. You surrendered the last of your humanity that day, and someone who has no soul, no ability to feel love, can never defeat a person with a real soul. Welcome to the world."

Buffy stood, heading over to Dante. Dante glanced at her sadly, before pointing his gun at Vergil and pulling the trigger, firing a shot imbued with tremendous devil power, erasing Vergil from existence, leaving only his sword Yamato behind, buried in the rubble from the shredded road.

Dante felt tears fill his eyes, and Buffy hugged him comfortingly. Spike stepped over to the group, helping Trish and Nero to their feet. Trish rested her hand comfortingly on Dante's shoulder, while Spike supported Nero, who still couldn't stand.  
Clearing his eyes, Dante turned to regard the wounded Nero.  
"At least you got your sword back, eh, kid?"


	11. Epilogue

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Devil May Cry.**

Halfrek the vengeance demon sat in the café in front of a young boy, looking to dish out vengeance against his father.  
"So your father is always at work, hmm?"  
The boy nodded. "He's always working late, and it makes me feel alone sometimes."  
Halfrek smiled. "He leaves you alone a lot, hmm?"  
The child nodded again. "I love my dad, but I just wish he was around more often."

Halfrek left the table and stepped to the side of the room after the boy's father returned to the table, having just come out of the bathroom.  
Halfrek turned to face the wall, and her face took its true form.  
"Wish grant…"  
Just as she was about to perform her vengeance spell, there was a flash of red, and her spell didn't take hold. Halfrek turned to glare at the smirking Dante, who held up Halfrek's pendant, the source of her power as a vengeance demon.  
Halfrek held out her hand. "Give that back!"

Halfrek charged at Dante, but just as she was about to touch him, time stopped, freezing Halfrek and everyone else to the spot. Dante then slammed his fist into the face of the frozen Halfrek, launching her flying back. Dante then effortlessly crushed Halfrek's pendant in his hand, tossing the pieces on the floor and releasing the flow of time.  
Halfrek, now human and powerless, stood up, looking at Dante in horror. Dante turned his back on her and walked out of the cafe, ignoring the looks he was receiving from everyone else in the café and the people on the street. "Adios, amigo."

Xander and Anya's wedding day had arrived, and Anya had never been happier. Xander's family, and Anya's demon friends, had turned up by the masses. Buffy, Tara, Joyce and Dawn were among the bridesmaids, as was Halfrek, now simply Hallie, the powerless human school councillor. Willow had been named as the best man, as she was Xander's best friend. All of them wore awful green dresses picked by Anya, due to some tradition from her demon days. Spike had shown up, wearing his usual leather coat, and was standing off to the side talking with Trish, who wore a dark blue dress that was almost black. She had wanted to wear a jet black, form fitting dress with a most immodest neckline, but Buffy had told her no in very simple terms, using the words, "Cover them, or lose them." That had gotten a chuckle from Dante.

Spike and Trish had been spending a lot of time together over the past months, and Dante had begun to suspect they were more or less an item. Dante had been assigned to security, meaning that it was his job to break up any fights started by Mr Harris, Xander's obnoxious father, who was the epitome of a drunken lout, having thrown up in Buffy's purse the night before. He had then tried to proposition Buffy, saying he had wanted to take her into the side room and show her something, but Buffy had told him that if he finished his sentence, he wouldn't have anything to show.

Dante stood at the door, making sure everyone belonged. Everyone, both human and demon, had an invitation, until Dante stopped an old man at the door, who claimed that he was Xander from the future.  
Dante knew that this was not Xander, as not only was the man showing the exact signs of a liar but Dante could instantly tell by the scent that it was actually a demon. When Dante said this, the demon had taken its true form and attacked, but Dante had put his fist straight through it and tossed its corpse up onto the church roof.  
"I'll bring that ugly bastard down later."

Xander and Anya stood at the altar together, where their marriage was finally officialised.  
During the bridal dance, Xander was clearly a hopeless dancer, and Anya wasn't much better, especially as she could barely walk in her dress, which was so tight around the legs it forced her to walk like a siren.  
As the best man, Willow was next on with Oz, followed by Giles and Jenny, and Nero with his girlfriend Kyrie, a pretty red haired girl wearing a very modest white dress. Kyrie seemed like the exact opposite of Trish. Dawn headed onto the floor with one of the demons that Anya had invited. Dawn had been scolded by everyone when they had established that it was her wish that had resurrected Vergil, but Dante had forgiven her, and everyone else had eventually done so too.

A few minutes passed as other guests joined them on the dance floor, while Buffy sat and watched, happy that her friends were happy. Spike sat with Trish for several minutes, not certain if he should ask her to dance. Trish suddenly pulled Spike to his feet, and half-pulled him to the dance floor, actually scaring him a bit with her sheer strength. Joyce sat next to Buffy, who was laughing at the surprise in Spike's eyes.  
"You okay, Buffy?"  
Buffy nodded. "Yeah. I feel great for them. All of them."  
Joyce smiled. "Well, I think you deserve to feel good yourself today."

Buffy turned, sensing someone beside her. Dante stood there, looking very different, as he had actually put on a suit for the wedding, though his shirt and tie were both red. He had tried to wear his usual red coat and black jacket, pants and shirt, but Trish had forced him to wear a suit. For all Dante's power, Trish had the more dominant personality by far.  
"May I have this dance, m'lady?"  
Buffy smiled, amused by Dante's mock formality. "Isn't your date gonna be here soon?"  
Dante nodded. "She'll be getting here later, but I already got her permission. Your mother is very proactive. She asked me and Lucia about this weeks ago. So, whaddya say?"

Buffy smiled. "I say thanks to all three of you." Buffy stood, taking Dante's hand and heading to the dance floor.  
"You know, Dante, you didn't have to do this."  
Dante shrugged. "Just a favour for a friend."

As it turned out, Dante was an amazing dancer, displaying mastery of every step he performed, which were steps that Buffy knew to be quite complicated.  
"Where did you learn to dance like this, Dante?"  
Without missing a beat, Dante answered, "My fighting style's a bit of a dance in itself, wouldn't ya say? And my mother taught me how to actually dance when I was young. She tried to teach Vergil too, but Vergil could never dance his way out of a paper bag."

After several dances, Buffy felt much happier. Dante was the right mix of a truly sensational dancer, a good friend, a good looking guy, and a fun person to hang around with. This made him a very pleasant dance partner. After a few songs, a red haired, olive skinned woman the same height as Buffy walked in wearing an elegant white dress. The woman was pretty, with an hourglass figure much like Trish, but had wider shoulders and was very solidly built, so much she made Trish seem slight. She seemed very warm, though. There was a great deal of emotion showing in her face.

Buffy and Dante separated, Buffy heading for the chairs where her mother sat, while Dante headed for this woman, who Buffy knew was Lucia, Dante's date for the wedding.

Buffy sat with Joyce. Dante was always fun company and a great friend, but he was more like an older brother to her. As Buffy started to daydream, she felt someone nearby. A very familiar someone. She turned to see Angel, who stood beside her, wearing a suit.  
"Angel?"  
Angel nodded. "Yeah. Dante told me about Xander's wedding, and told me that I should come along. He told me that you didn't have a date. I can't stay, but I'm here as your date for the wedding, if you'll have me."  
Buffy smiled, thinking about whether to thank Dante or set him on fire.  
"I understand, Angel. We can dance together."

Buffy danced with Angel, passing Dante and Lucia.  
"Thanks, Dante. I might just kill you later, but thanks."  
Lucia leaned closer to Buffy. "You can't kill him, believe me. Dante went to hell and back, and he killed the devil. He's indestructible."

Buffy smiled, starting to like Lucia, then watched as Dante suddenly spun Lucia into the air, and she jumped straight over him in a triple spinning somersault, displaying very impressive acrobatics which clearly marked her as being something other than human, having easily superseded human capability. Lucia landed behind Dante, and he vanished and reappeared facing her again, a playful smirk on his face.

Buffy and Angel settled in the middle of the floor, where the two stopped dancing, and simply held each other, moving slightly in rhythm to what was clearly recognisable as Anya's awful taste in music.

Dante and Lucia watched the exchange between Buffy and Angel.  
"She's a good kid, Lucia. It's good to see her feeling happy, even if it is just temporary."  
Lucia nodded and smiled, spinning herself over Dante's shoulder and landing behind him, to find he had already turned to face her, displaying his uncanny speed and precision once again.  
Lucia smiled, meeting his gaze. "You really care about this girl, don't you? Do I have to keep a close eye on my celebrity Devil Hunter from now on?"  
Dante chuckled, ignoring her sarcastic comment about the fame he had earned himself over the years. "She's like a little sister. After Vergil, it's good to have a surrogate sibling. Like another Patty, only less annoying."

Lucia smiled, smacking Dante on the top of his head, not hurting him at all, but still catching his attention. "Don't get all sappy on me until after. I don't want you crying all over me in public! I feel silly enough wearing this flouncy dress!"  
Dante smirked, his oversensitive moment towards Buffy having passed, and pulled Lucia to himself, now completely focused on her. From there, the two continued to dance with absolutely no space between them, a dance that proved beyond all doubt that Dante and Lucia were a permanent item.  
"That's perfect, Lucia. After all, devils never cry, now do they?"


End file.
